If there is any justice, Warner Bros. is about to enjoy a good run of success with Ben Affleck‘s third film, Argo, which is one of the most entertaining and satisfying films I’ve seen this year. (And certainly among the best from a major studio.) And so Affleck being attached, as an actor only, to another project Warner Bros. wants to make should come as no surprise to anyone. That he is essentially replacing Ryan Gosling is a bit of a shock.

Crazy Stupid Love writer/directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa were planning to follow that film with Focus, with a reunited Gosling and Emma Stone. But those two have now fallen away, and if the right co-star is found the film could be a go with Affleck in the male lead role.

Deadline says that WB wants to get this one moving, and with the increased heat on Affleck thanks to Argo, it’s a good time for the studio to get the film locked down. So WB is looking for a female lead now, and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that someone is moving towards a deal within days.

The Focus script is about “a veteran con man who gets involved with a newcomer to the grifter business. They get involved romantically but that becomes perilous in a business where they lie and cheat for a living. The complications of the encounter haunt them when they meet up again in the future.”